FK, lobotomizing was never good. It was 'curative' in a very undesirable way. If God changes our heart without our participation or desire, it is forced. It is no different than brainwashing.
I mean, were our brains "clean" before we came to Christ? NO, of course not, they were filthy and full of sin. God "washed" them and then we believed
God healed us because we asked Him. We don't go around snatching McDonald's burgers our of fat people's hands just because obesity is unhealthy, do we? Do we arrest smokers because their habits are disgusting? Or do we help them change their ways? God lets us know He is there, but it's up to us to come to Him and ask for help. We all did, and do. No one was forced, arrested or lobotomized.
The story is told of a group of theologians who were discussing predestination and free will. Things became so heated that the group broke up into two opposing factions.
But one man, not knowing which to join, stood for a moment trying to decide. At last he joined the predestination group.
“Who sent you here?” they asked.
“No one sent me,” he replied. “I considered the facts and decided on my own.”
“Free Will!” they exclaimed. “You can’t join us! You belong with the other group!”
So he followed their orders and went to the other clique.
There someone asked, “When did you decide to join us?”
The young man replied, “Well, I didn’t really decide—I was sent here.”
“Sent here!” they shouted. “You can’t join us unless you have decided by your own free will.”
When you look at the Bible as a whole and consider why God created man, why God is angered by us, why Jesus came to earth to be a sacrifice for our sins, and why God delays in destroying the world and creating a new one it is clear God is giving every person every chance possible to repent and accept Him. Otherwise we can ignore our lost neighbors, criminals, or those struggling with various addictions, because the result of predestination is that is the way they were created and were meant to be.
God is not standing off in the distance, having wound us up and pre-programmed us, watching us and the rest of His creation wind down. No, God is actively involved with us on our life’s journey and we are involved as well.
It all boils down to this:
If you can believe that God does not love everyone, just specific people, and that Jesus only died for a predetermined few, then you won’t have any problems justifying a belief in predestination. For me it doesn’t get any more basic, or any clearer, than Jesus’ words in John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Agreed, so what does it have to do with this conversation? I've never heard a Christian complain about God changing his heart.
If God changes our heart without our participation or desire, it is forced.
Yes, and the bad part is ...? If one believed that hell would be a preferable alternative in order to maintain his free will, then perhaps a curative action was indicated in the first place. :)
We don't go around snatching McDonald's burgers our of fat people's hands just because obesity is unhealthy, do we? Do we arrest smokers because their habits are disgusting?
Stay tuned for a Democrat administration coming soon to a theater near you. They certainly use the law, i.e. the tax code, to change behaviors they do not like. It's bad that they do it because they really do not have the moral authority to do so. God, OTOH, DOES have the moral authority to change people without them having asked first.